Old World Divine Miracle

With a creak, the brake was applied, and they had arrived. The steam carriage stopped by the side of the road, paved with gravel.

Compared to the prosperity of Downing Street, ordinary residential areas like Tailor Street better revealed the true living standards of the residents of Sinless City.

The street was very narrow, with sewage flowing on the stone-paved road. Piles of garbage could be seen everywhere in the alleys, and the air was often filled with the stench of excrement and urine.

This was one of the most densely populated and poorest districts in Sinless City.

Ji Xun and his four companions walked through a small alley with their boxes, finally finding the inconspicuous "Tailor Street No. 17."

When they arrived, two stern-looking men were already waiting at the entrance to handle the scene.

High-end suits, shiny leather shoes, and what looked like very high-end equipment – these were the field agents of Golden Oak Security Company. They specialized in handling sudden incidents like supernatural accidents and Calamity containment within the city.

The corpse collectors were merely temporary workers for the company.

There was no police force in Sinless City; maintaining public order relied mainly on the violent methods of the major gangs, with the rest outsourced to Golden Oak Security Company.

Ji Xun had only been on the job for three days and hadn't yet figured out the complex power dynamics within the city.

However, it was said that the boss of Golden Oak Security Company was very influential and well-connected in Sinless City. Not only did the major gangs show him respect, but various business associations also paid protection fees, and he even had some connections with the Governor's Mansion.

Dong Jiu seemed to know the two men in suits. As soon as he approached, the bearded man in the suit pointed to the door and said, "Dong Jiu, the bodies inside are for you to handle. No need to keep them. There are two upstairs and sixteen in the cellar. Clean them up thoroughly."

Dong Jiu smiled and replied, "Got it."

Without further ado, he beckoned to the four people behind him, "Let's get to work."

Ji Xun and the other three put on their gas masks and gloves and entered the room.

Unbeknownst to Ji Xun and the others, after they walked into the house, the two field agents at the door began to chat.

The bearded man said, "Judging by the evil symbols, the cellar seems to be a secret altar of the Silver Moon Cult. Only those Old Ones Remnants who operate in the shadows would create such disgusting things."

"Yeah."

The other fair-skinned man also looked disgusted, "Those corpses are truly disgusting, and the pollution is severe. Let the company's corpse collectors handle them. Just erase their memories afterward, as usual."

The bearded man didn't say anything and continued, "The dark energy from the corpses is spreading rapidly, and there are clear signs of gnawing. The perpetrator might be 'Lone Wolf' Baron. I didn't expect him to lose control and betray us. He was a colleague from Group Eight... But then again, that Cataclysmic Object he brought back from the Demon Cross is also quite troublesome. And he fused it with that sinister professional card. Several field agents who tried to apprehend him have died. The company's higher-ups are probably having a headache right now."

The fair-skinned man shrugged, "Who cares? It's not like we're the ones responsible for apprehending him. Just write up the report."

The bearded man raised an eyebrow, "True."

As soon as Ji Xun and the others entered the room, they could smell a faint scent of blood even through their gas masks.

There were two bodies in the room. One had a wound where its entire left shoulder appeared to have been torn off by a beast, while the other had a large hole punched through its chest.

It was a rather brutal murder scene.

But as Ji Xun looked at the bodies, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

In the past few days, the bodies they had collected normally had gunshot wounds, stab wounds, or magical injuries. It was rare to see someone beaten to death with fists.

Let alone someone whose chest was blown open with a single punch.

Anyone could infer that the perpetrator was a very strong individual.

Coincidentally, Ji Xun had indeed seen someone like that.

It was the wanted criminal whose Curse Power had gone out of control on the train back to Sinless City.

Without thinking further, Captain Dong Jiu commanded, "You and you. You two go handle the bodies in the cellar."

Those called out were naturally Ji Xun and the newcomer, the chubby kid Gib.

Upon hearing this, the other two veteran team members sneered, looking on with folded arms.

Who knew that handling corpses carried a risk of pollution? For the same salary, they preferred to avoid touching bodies if possible.

Dong Jiu and the other two had formed a small clique.

Exploiting the newcomers seemed to be part of the corpse collectors' corporate culture.

It had been like this for the past few days, and Ji Xun didn't mind.

He actually wanted to come into contact with more corpses.

If he had a choice, he hoped the deceased in the cellar had been Transcendent beings in life. Preferably, formal Spell Card Masters, with as many residual Extraordinary Traits as possible.

Looking at the strong, uncontrolled Curse Power leaking from these bodies, it seemed his wish might come true.

The chubby kid Gib beside him was reluctant but dared not voice his complaint.

They carried their toolboxes and silently climbed down the stairs into the cellar.

However, as soon as they opened the cellar door, a nauseatingly warm, bloody stench assaulted them.

Even Ji Xun's composure faltered, and he frowned.

He had felt something was off about the two bodies upstairs, but now, seeing the scene in the cellar, he knew it wasn't just "off" – the problem was much bigger!

In the dark cellar, several bodies were vaguely visible hanging in the air.

Just looking at those shadows gave a creepy and nauseating psychological impact.

After taking just two steps down the stairs, the Enlightenment prompt appeared: "You have resisted an unknown mental pollution attack."

Ordinary corpses did not cause mental pollution.

Ji Xun was exempt, but the little fatty beside him looked like a bitter gourd.

This level of pollution was far worse than the previous corpses.

Ji Xun couldn't help but feel suspicious: What was going on?

This mission seemed to have touched upon some secrets of Sinless City.

But this was the job of a corpse handler.

The two could only continue forward, holding their lamps.

Ji Xun's night vision was excellent. Even without light, he could see that the cellar seemed to be an evil altar.

One, two, three—a total of sixteen dark shadows were hanging.

That meant sixteen corpses.

The bodies were arranged in a specific layout around the cellar, suspended in mid-air by iron hooks.

The skin had been removed from the bodies. The scarlet muscle fibers, yellow fat layers, and even blood vessels were clearly visible. Judging by the details, the skinning person's skill was extremely high, as if they were extremely proficient in human anatomy.

Ji Xun didn't think this was the work of some perverted serial killer.

He looked again.

There were also some special runic symbols drawn with fresh blood on the walls. One of them was particularly conspicuous. It looked like this:

A moon?

This type of symbol usually pointed to certain entities in the occult.

Ji Xun observed that the corpses were fresh, having died no more than an hour ago.

In other words, these people were alive shortly before they arrived.

It was like a hasty cover-up.

"What's going on..."

The more closely Ji Xun looked, the more his brow furrowed: Mysterious symbols, rituals, sacrifices...

And it was happening in an inconspicuous civilian neighborhood like Tailor Street.

He immediately realized this mission was not simple.

These were high-level events that ordinary people couldn't get involved in.

These corpses were not only bloody but, more importantly, they were emitting a dense Curse Power Pollution that resembled black flames.

But then he thought that this kind of case wasn't something he, a low-level corpse handler, could solve, so he didn't dwell on it.

While Ji Xun was observing, Gib, who was beside him, had already opened his tool kit, revealing various bottles and jars of reagents. He sighed, "Let's get started. Sigh, with so many clients, who knows how long this will take..."

Disgusting or not, they still had to handle it themselves.

The blue granules were Rock Salt Crystals, the green potion was Corrosive Aqua Regia, the brown was Lizard Acid, and the red powder was Blood Bone Powder...

These were all alchemical potions, with each different potion specifically designed to handle different corpses.

The "Corpse Handler Training Manual" from the Golden Oak Security Company provided information on the efficacy of these potions, and the learning threshold was not high.

On his first day on the job, Ji Xun had flipped through the manual once and had skillfully mastered this professional skill of a corpse handler.

Gib had already opened the box and taken out a mixed reagent.

He first used tweezers to pick up some tissue from a corpse on the ground and put it into a test tube.

As soon as the flesh touched the reagent, it produced a string of small bubbles and immediately turned dark red.

Looking at the color of the reagent, Gib had already made a judgment and muttered, "The corpse residue is fire-attribute Curse Power."

Seeing this, he took out a bottle of water-attribute Rock Salt Crystals and sprinkled it on the corpse.

The sea salt made a sizzling sound as it came into contact with the corpse.

This was the necessary procedure before collecting the corpses.

After a Transcendent died, the energy within their body lost conscious control. Alchemical potions had to be used to neutralize and guide the residual Curse Power in the corpse to dissipate. Otherwise, uncontrolled Curse Power was the most significant cause of mutation.

If they were burned without treatment, it would be like burning opium; the mutated substances would spread into the air and endanger everyone in the city.

This was also the reason for the existence of the corpse handler position in Sinless City.

Ji Xun looked at the little fatty working diligently and said, "You handle the two by the door first, and I'll deal with the ones over there."

"Okay."

Gib was engrossed in his work. The dizziness he felt from the mental pollution upon entering the cellar made him unable to say anything else.

Ji Xun didn't say any more and walked in. The pollution deeper in the cellar was indeed more severe.

He began to take down the hanging corpses and put them into body bags.

The body bags were also made of special material that could isolate pollution to a certain extent. Ultimately, they would have to be placed in lead-lined boxes in the morgue.

However, he didn't handle them too meticulously. Corpses with such potent uncontrolled Extraordinary Traits were rare clients for Ji Xun.

After returning, he could clean the alchemical potions off the corpses and use them again.

The [Demon Feast] devoured the surrounding uncontrolled energy, and he wasn't affected by any negative corruption.

There were obvious signs of disturbance in the cellar; it was clear the two field agents had already come down to inspect it, and anything worth taking had been taken.

There wasn't much worth observing.

Everything would proceed according to the normal body disposal procedure.

Ji Xun had originally thought he'd be done after dealing with these sixteen corpses, but unexpectedly, as he was collecting the third corpse and had just reached the depths of the cellar, he suddenly saw Enlightenment.

"You have heeded the demonic whispers from the abyss, resisted mental confusion, and touched the 'Old World Divine Miracle'."